Chapter 24 --- The Word Love

After Marie told Tik where Kat was hiding, he called all the hotels he could think of, but she was nowhere to be found.

But then, things took a sudden change for the better. One of the hotel employees told Tik that they had a beach house that no one ever rented out. They were surprised that a young lady rented it out for herself.

Once Tik heard about a female renting out a beach house for herself, he decided to take the risk of going there. So, he took the car and rushed out to look for Kat right away.

He told Noi and Ken to stay there, to take care of other things. Tik only took some clothes, his cell phone, wallet, and his car.

As Tik was driving, he was reminiscing about his conversation with Marie:

Marie: Kat hasn�t left Thailand yet.
Tik: She didn�t? Then where is she?
Marie: She is resting on some island. I am not sure where.
Tik: I will call all the hotels on every Island in Thailand.
Marie: Please hurry. She told me she was coming to the Philippines to stay with me. I don�t mind her staying with me. But I do mind that she is running away from her problems.
Tik: Did she tell you anything?
Marie: Yes, she told me she was afraid she was going to fall in love if she stays in Thailand. She said she was afraid to love someone when that someone is only using her as a pawn in a game.
Tik: That is not true!
Marie: I figured it wasn�t. That is why I was trying to reach you. She is planning to come to the Philippines on the day of her wedding. But I won�t be here; because that is the day I will be going to Thailand for her wedding. Please find her.
Tik: Thanks for the information, Marie.
Marie: No problem. Remember, Don�t Give Up! She is afraid to fall for someone because she was hurt by Hugo. Well, that�s what she told me, and I don�t think she wants to get hurt a second time by you.

"She was afraid she was going to fall in love.� Those were the words Tik kept in his head as he was driving to look for Kat.

Kat was only 5 hours away from him. She was retreating on a small island where no one goes anymore. The island was breathtakingly beautiful, with a relaxing beach covered with powdery grains of the finest white sand. Bright purple orchids and summery plumerias were blooming in abundance, while the sun beamed down against the surface of the clean, aquamarine ocean water, cascading with shades of blue, turquoise and green. It was such an amazingly natural wonder to witness�.and provided simply the perfect setting.

Kat had been staying there for almost 2 days now. She was lying on the sand and listening to the ocean sing to her.

Kat then went back to her room to eat dinner, and afterwards, chose to relax on the beach. She wanted to forget everything, even Tik. She couldn�t believe how easily he tricked her. She hated herself for being so dumb. She always wondered what would happen if she was not in this world anymore.

She wanted to wash her sins away and wanted to start fresh in life. She got up and walked to the clean blue ocean. She wanted to swim, lie there, and wash everything that had ever happened to her. She had the urge to play in the ocean in the middle of the night.

As her feet touched the water, she realized it was warm. She wanted to go deeper so her whole body can feel the warm, clean, ocean water.

She walked deeper and thought about her problems in life. How can she solve her problems if she is running away from them? She didn�t know what else to do but to start a new life.

As she got deeper into the water, she heard a voice calling out her name.

"Kat� Kat� Kat� Don�t do it, don�t do this to your self!�

Kat turned around and saw Tik running towards her. He was running like a madman that had just spotted gold.

"Don�t come any closer to me, Khun Tik!!!� Kat was running even deeper into the ocean. It was up to her neck, and she wanted to run even deeper. But a hand grabbed her and pulled her away from the deep ocean.

"Kat� What are you trying to do?� Tik asked as he pulled her out of the ocean to the sand.

"What?? What are you talking about?� asked Kat, who was coughing out water that she had swallowed in the deep zone.

"Kat, please promise me you won�t try to kill yourself so you can run away from the problems you think you cannot handle!� Tik pleaded with concern.

"What? What did you just say? �Me kill myself?�� Kat had a confused look on her face. She was ready to explain, but Tik kept talking and expressing his feelings.

Tik and Kat were sitting on the sand together after being wet in the ocean. Tik turned around and looked Kat in the eye.

"Kat, I am so sorry for what I have done to you! I never meant to hurt you or to use you as a tool or to get Benz back in my life. I� I� I do L.o..v� umm.. care for you very much!� Tik still couldn�t say the word love. He was still scared.

"Listen to me, Khun Tik. I wasn�t going to--" Kat didn�t get to finish.

Tik tap her lips with one of his fingers so she could listen to him. �Kat, I know what I did to you was horrible of me. I can�t ask you to forgive me because of my jealousy. I couldn�t stop being jealous of Hugo and Ken because they were getting along with you. But as for me and you, we couldn�t even have one nice conversation together. But before you get to say anything else, I just want to tell you that I am sorry. I can�t give you back what I took away from you. But we can work something out together,� Tik said slowly, trying to compromise.

"Like what?� Kat questioned him.

"I don�t know. One thing I do know, I am your husband and you are my wife,� Tik said smiling.

Kat got up and was about to walk away from him, but Tik got up and caught her wrist. Once she stopped, he turned her around to face him.

"Why are you walking away from me?� Tik didn�t know why she was always walking away from him.

"I can�t believe you just said we are married when we are not. We are not even a couple! Everything we do is all based on your decisions and everything you do ends up hurting me!� Kat said angrily.

"Kat, I am sorry. I didn�t mean it that way. How about this, let�s just spend some time together before we go back? I want us to spend some time together before other people come into our life! How about it?� Tik gave her another proposal.

"Huh? Us spending time together? Where? Here?�

"Kat, I know this is all too much for you. But we never really created good memories with each other. I want this to be a time where we can share everything with one another.�

Tik pulled her closer to him so he could hug her tight.

He continued, �If I never told you this before, I want to tell you this now. You are the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I want to get to know you, I want to know how you feel, I want to know how you think, act, and who you are with. If you don�t know the whole meaning about those damn contracts by now, I think you are a very slow person,� Tik said jokingly.

Kat looked at him and was about to hit him for calling her slow. But he grabbed her hand that was formed into a fist. He slowly pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly.

"Kat, the contracts were something for me to use so I could get closer to you. I didn�t know how I could approach you. When we first met, and I heard you were interviewing for a job in my department, I knew I had a way. I know it is silly for me to go to all that trouble just to get closer to you, but if I was just another guy approaching you, would you have gone for me?� he confessed about the contacts and questioned her.

He looked at her; she didn�t give him an answer.

"I know you would kick ass if a guy just went up to you like that. Kat, honestly, I didn�t mean to hurt you or use you. I don�t love Benz, I just thought I did. I always wanted revenge for what she did to me, but when I met you, I lost those feelings. All I wanted was you. I wanted you to be mine. When you weren�t in your apartment, I thought I was going to die, because the person I truly loved had left me,� Tik confessed his love.

Kat was shocked to hear that from him. She looked into his eyes as he continued to speak. Kat�s tears were slowly falling without her knowing it; all she could do was listen to Tik�s words.

"Kat, for the past two days, all I could do was read your letter over and over again. Drink alcohol to forget the pain that someone had left me again. I was like a bum once again. But this time, I am not giving up! I realized Benz was the person I thought I loved, but now I know who I truly love. I love you, Kat. I loved you from the very start when we first met in America by the elevator, when you thought you was late and breathing so hard because you ran from the Bart station. I remember your friendly smile in the elevator and your cheerfulness and energy, � Tik said softly, pulling both of her hands to his lips and continuing.

"Kat, when we went to China, you took me out to places that did not use much money. You don�t understand how much that meant to me. I wanted you to be mine from the very beginning, but I had to control myself. I had to stop myself from talking to you, seeing you, so I could stop wanting you. But I couldn�t. When I see you with other guys, it makes me jealous. I was not jealous enough for not having you for myself but was even more so when you got along with other guys,� Tik kissed her hands and slowly kissed her forehead.

Tik continued and said slowly and softly, �Kat, I Love You. From the start, from the time you cried in my arms, and even now. We can start over together! Let�s start a future with each other,� Tik ended with smile.

Kat was touched by his sweet words. He admitted that he loved her. She felt the same for him too. Her tears were rolling down her cheeks. These tears were different from the ones she shed the night he blackmailed her. These tears were joyful tears that she never thought she would have in this lifetime.

Tik wiped the tears from her face and kissed her cheeks. He then kissed her forehead and was about to kiss her soft lips.

***S*M*A*C*K***

Kat punched Tik on his cheeks. And made him moved back from her and let her loosed.

She then stepped on his left foot, and punched his other cheeks and gave him her round house kick then a front kick on his stomach, so he can fall.

"What the hell was that for?� Tik was mad because of the pain, yet confused for the reason.

"What the hell you think you are doing Khun Tik? You been talking this whole time, telling me how you feel and think everything should be ok after that?� Kat said with energy of being her old self again.

"What? I don�t understand?� Tik was still confused

"Look Khun Tik, You put me through hell with your contracts. You made get go through a hell lot of dramas. You tricked me and blackmailed me. You violated me, and made me lost everything I have, especially my pride.� Kat explained

"But... but...� Tik was speechless

"Let me finished. I let you did all your talking, now it is my turned� Kat stood up with her pride back. She put two hands on her hips and tapped her feet on the sand and she continued

"Throughout the whole time, it seems like you were making the decisions and being the big man! But this time, I want my inputs to be in. I want you to listen to me and my decisions. I don�t want you to slap money in my face or anybody else. I especially don�t like it when you put my pride down. If you want to compromise something with me, you better listen up!� She said as if she was a wife lecturing her husband.

Tik was smiling, because he was happy. She was willing to compromise with him, instead of leaving him and their problems.

Kat continued �I think you should take that smile away from that face of yours. Give me your wallet and car keys now! Oh, and turn off your cell phone!� Kat said demanding.

Tik listen to her and gave both car keys and his wallets to her, because he trusts her of not leaving him.

"You are not trying to leave me are you Kat?� Tik asked

"Nope, I should do that just to torture you. But I have a better idea of doing that instead!�

As Kat and Tik were walking to their beach house, Tik was complaining about the punched he just got from Kat.

"Gosh� Kat! You didn�t have to punch me so hard.�

"I think it was a good reality check! What? You think I was going to kiss you?� Kat said jokingly and laughed at him.

"I don�t mind you kissing me, instead of hurting me!� Tik was still whining

"That punch is nothing, to what you did to me!!!� Kat reminded him.

"Want me to do the same thing I did before you ran away from me?� Tik was tempted to do so.

"Hahahaha... Catch me if you can!� Kat kicked him on his legs and pushed him in the sand, while she was running to the beach house.

"Ouch, Kat you are cheating. You are being abusive!!� Tik was complaining as he was getting up from the ground and trying to catch up with Kat.

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Tik and Kat have spent 3 days with each other in the Beach house. Kat took both Tik�s car keys and wallet and hided in the house. She made him cook and clean as they were staying there. She also made him washed the clothes with his hands because there were no laundry machines.

As she was telling him what to do and being the woman of the house, she couldn�t believe he listened to her. She was surprise that he got on his knees and bare hands to do things in the house and did not use money or went out of the area with his car.

The past 3 days, Tik cooked and clean for Kat. During the afternoon, they walk around the area to do some sightseeing together. At night, they sat outside and lay on the sand to look at the stars together.

Kat never knew that the 3 days she spent with Tik would help her know more about him.

Tik expressed everything about himself to Kat. The day he was born, to the death of his love ones, and the one he though he loved left him, to him falling in love with Kat.

Kat couldn�t be happier than she already is. She loved the fact that she can relax on a beautiful beach. She had a personal servant to do chores for her. Most of all, she was spending time with the one she love, and realized she was in love with him awhile ago, but didn�t admit it.

Tik was happy; she accepted him, and his past. He was happy Kat would try to work things out and didn�t give up on them. He knew she was the one for him, the one that can heal his black heart. She would be the one to warm up his cold heart. He wanted them to last like this forever, talking, cuddling each other and watching the beautiful stars together.

For the past 3 days, he did not spend a dime. He caught the fish in the lake and cooked it. He did not use his car or waste oil, because they walked everywhere. He was happy; he didn�t need money to be happy with Kat.

Kat was using Tik�s arm as a pillow while they were lying in the sand to look at the stars. Tik turn his head to look at her and put his other arms around her.

"Kat, I love our time here together. I want our future to be like this forever. I love the moment I spend with you, I love to look at your beautiful smile, I love the sound of your voice and the way you laugh, I love everything about you. Kat, I can�t stop telling you how much I love you!� Tik kissed her on her lips.

He was really happy because, she did not once reject his love while they were spending time together. He loved her mostly because she accepted him for who he is, although she made him work like hell with the house chores.

"Kat, when we go back tomorrow, will you marry me?� Tik proposed to her.

"Do I have a choice? Our wedding is in a couple more days. All my family and friends will be there. I don�t want my parents to lose face, now do I?� Kat gave him the answer in her own words.

"I guess that is a Yes!� He smile and rolled on top of her, putting his chest on top of hers.

He continued �Kat, you are amazing. I don�t know how or why, but I am head over all heels in love with you. You know someone once told me, Life is short and not everything good comes along easily. But you are my life that makes everything good. Someone like you only comes once in a life time. I can�t let you get away. I guess you are stuck with me!� He ended and kissed her on her lips.

He gradually carried her back to the beach house. Once they were in the bedroom, he slowly puts the blanket over their bodies while still kissing her. Then they made loved the whole night together.

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